gcarter
04-17-2011, 11:29 AM
Dinner!
Brothers building a reputation for finding big fish
FROELICH PHOTO
http://www2.tbo.com/exposure/ar/659/372/2011/04/16/112368_outdoors_0417_18502383jpg.jpg
Captains Nick, left, and Will Froelich show off the shark that weighed an estimated 750 pounds.
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By FRANK SARGEANT (fsargeant@tampatrib.com) | The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 16, 2011
Updated: 04/16/2011 06:57 pm
"When we set the hook, this monster just exploded out of the water behind the transom." -Will Froelich
Picking up a new boat is always an adventure, but for Will and Nick Froelich of Sarasota, returning home with their just-purchased Strike 35 across the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana, a special challenge was in the works.
"We got the boat in Texas, ran the (Intracoastal Waterway) around to Louisiana because of bad weather, and then started directly across from there to Florida when things calmed down," said Will Froelich. "We ran until we were in about 1,100 feet of water, coming back up on the edge of the shelf off Sarasota, and put out some swordfish lines while we took a brief rest."
The swordfish were not cooperative, but a swordfish predator was.
"With no swordfish action, we decided to put out a shark line," Froelich said. The brothers thought big; the bait was a 15-pound bonito.
Before long, they got a bite.
"When we set the hook, this monster just exploded out of the water behind the transom," Froelich said. "The shark was way up above the boat, maybe 20 feet in the air."
The incredible leap of the giant shark immediately identified it as a mako, Froelich said. Most sharks rarely leave the water, but makos are noted for their spectacular leaps.
The anglers were fishing 80-pound gear, but despite the heavy drag, seconds later the shark was 300 yards away and 1,000 feet down.
"From then on, it was just a slugging match until the end," Froelich said. "It took us an hour-and-a-half to where we could get our hands on the leader."
Makos, like the swordfish that make up a part of their prey in the Gulf, are very good to eat, and so the brothers decided to boat the fish — if they could.
"It jumped right over the cockpit at the end, then bit the rub rail, but we managed to get three flying gaffs into it and then a tail rope and it finally calmed down," Froelich said.
Now they had another problem; a shark nearly 12 feet long and with a girth of over 60 inches, and only the two of them to haul it on board.
"The boat had a tuna door through the transom, but the shark was way too big to fit through it," Froelich said. "Finally, we just decided to float it up on the swim platform and tie it down, and after a couple of hours of work, we managed to get it done."
Back at the docks in Sarasota, the anglers figured the approximate weight based on the standard formula, length times girth squared over 800, and came up with a weight of more than 700 pounds for the beast.
"We don't know the exact weight, but we know it made a tremendous amount of shark steaks," Froelich said.
Makos are not considered to be overfished in U.S. waters, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, but they do appear to be undergoing overfishing. Recreational fishers are limited to one per day or two per boat. The commercial harvest varies between 100,000 and 200,000 pounds annually in U.S. waters according to NMFS, and the species is thought to be at about 95 percent or more of optimum levels for sustained harvest. (In some parts of the world, the species is severely overfished and thought to be in decline, however.)
The Froelich brothers have made a business of chasing fish, starting out with several years on an Alaskan salmon boat, then a charter boat in St. Thomas pursuing giant marlin and tuna, and finally settling in Florida about 10 years ago. Their new charter service here will target blue-water species including wahoo, dolphin and yellowfin tuna, as well as deep-water grouper like yellow-edge, black and Warsaw. The anglers recently caught, photographed and released a Goliath grouper estimated at 400 pounds, adding rapidly to their reputation for finding giant fish.
"We've got a fast, fuel-efficient boat, and we think that running day trips out to the edge and back can be a viable business," Will Froelich said. "It's a rare opportunity on this side of the state because there are only a few boats equipped to operate that far offshore."
Brothers building a reputation for finding big fish
FROELICH PHOTO
http://www2.tbo.com/exposure/ar/659/372/2011/04/16/112368_outdoors_0417_18502383jpg.jpg
Captains Nick, left, and Will Froelich show off the shark that weighed an estimated 750 pounds.
http://imagec12.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/default/empty.gif (http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.tbo.com/sports/outdoors/story.htm/454385707/Position2/default/empty.gif/515367724655327245356f4144485634?x)
By FRANK SARGEANT (fsargeant@tampatrib.com) | The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 16, 2011
Updated: 04/16/2011 06:57 pm
"When we set the hook, this monster just exploded out of the water behind the transom." -Will Froelich
Picking up a new boat is always an adventure, but for Will and Nick Froelich of Sarasota, returning home with their just-purchased Strike 35 across the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana, a special challenge was in the works.
"We got the boat in Texas, ran the (Intracoastal Waterway) around to Louisiana because of bad weather, and then started directly across from there to Florida when things calmed down," said Will Froelich. "We ran until we were in about 1,100 feet of water, coming back up on the edge of the shelf off Sarasota, and put out some swordfish lines while we took a brief rest."
The swordfish were not cooperative, but a swordfish predator was.
"With no swordfish action, we decided to put out a shark line," Froelich said. The brothers thought big; the bait was a 15-pound bonito.
Before long, they got a bite.
"When we set the hook, this monster just exploded out of the water behind the transom," Froelich said. "The shark was way up above the boat, maybe 20 feet in the air."
The incredible leap of the giant shark immediately identified it as a mako, Froelich said. Most sharks rarely leave the water, but makos are noted for their spectacular leaps.
The anglers were fishing 80-pound gear, but despite the heavy drag, seconds later the shark was 300 yards away and 1,000 feet down.
"From then on, it was just a slugging match until the end," Froelich said. "It took us an hour-and-a-half to where we could get our hands on the leader."
Makos, like the swordfish that make up a part of their prey in the Gulf, are very good to eat, and so the brothers decided to boat the fish — if they could.
"It jumped right over the cockpit at the end, then bit the rub rail, but we managed to get three flying gaffs into it and then a tail rope and it finally calmed down," Froelich said.
Now they had another problem; a shark nearly 12 feet long and with a girth of over 60 inches, and only the two of them to haul it on board.
"The boat had a tuna door through the transom, but the shark was way too big to fit through it," Froelich said. "Finally, we just decided to float it up on the swim platform and tie it down, and after a couple of hours of work, we managed to get it done."
Back at the docks in Sarasota, the anglers figured the approximate weight based on the standard formula, length times girth squared over 800, and came up with a weight of more than 700 pounds for the beast.
"We don't know the exact weight, but we know it made a tremendous amount of shark steaks," Froelich said.
Makos are not considered to be overfished in U.S. waters, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, but they do appear to be undergoing overfishing. Recreational fishers are limited to one per day or two per boat. The commercial harvest varies between 100,000 and 200,000 pounds annually in U.S. waters according to NMFS, and the species is thought to be at about 95 percent or more of optimum levels for sustained harvest. (In some parts of the world, the species is severely overfished and thought to be in decline, however.)
The Froelich brothers have made a business of chasing fish, starting out with several years on an Alaskan salmon boat, then a charter boat in St. Thomas pursuing giant marlin and tuna, and finally settling in Florida about 10 years ago. Their new charter service here will target blue-water species including wahoo, dolphin and yellowfin tuna, as well as deep-water grouper like yellow-edge, black and Warsaw. The anglers recently caught, photographed and released a Goliath grouper estimated at 400 pounds, adding rapidly to their reputation for finding giant fish.
"We've got a fast, fuel-efficient boat, and we think that running day trips out to the edge and back can be a viable business," Will Froelich said. "It's a rare opportunity on this side of the state because there are only a few boats equipped to operate that far offshore."